When the witches enter the storyline the scene is set on a heath at night with thunder and lightning, this is a typical eerie mood and setting and creates atmosphere. There is also very poor weather; Macbeth’s opening line is “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” It is Macbeth and Banquo that witness them and talk to them. Macbeth and Banquo are anxious and curious about the witches at first - “Speak if you can, what are you?” They then become less wary and begin to get interested in what the witches are saying. Macbeth is much more interested than Banquo, perhaps because what they are saying is good news for him if their predictions are correct. The witches say that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and then will become king - “All hail Macbeth…Thane of Cawdor, All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.” This seems strange to Macbeth and Banquo because they know that the Thane of Cawdor is still alive and so how could Macbeth become Thane - “The Thane of Cawdor lives, a prosperous gentleman.” Banquo is also confused by this- “What are you?” this quotation from Banquo shows that he does not recognise the witches as being normal, and so warns Macbeth of the possible danger, and what sort of things witches could do to people. -“The earth hath bubbles as the water has, and these are of them…” At the time that Macbeth was written and while Shakespeare was alive witches were hated, and anyone thought to be a witch would be executed. This is why Banquo was so wary. He wanted to calm Macbeth down, as he was excited about what the witches had to say to him and wanted to hear more – “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more.” “Were such things here as we do speak about” Banquo warned Macbeth of what the witches were capable of, “or have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?” and questioned whether what they just aw was actually real or whether they imagined it.
“Whither are they vanished?” This is Banquo describing how the witches disappeared, this is very supernatural as it is impossible to vanish without a trace in real life. Shakespeare often shows the witches doing impossible things such as this. The part of the scene that make the witches seem most supernatural, is when moments after the witches have been predicting that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor, a messenger arrives to tell him that he will become Thane, as soon as the present Thane of Cawdor is executed for treason.
Macbeth is alone in his room when the dagger appears and it is nighttime, which creates a more frightening atmosphere. When he first sees the dagger he is startled and anxious. It is a hallucination due to the turmoil he has been going through. Just before he sees the dagger he has just agreed with his wife, Lady Macbeth that he will murder Duncan, so he can become thinks that the dagger is inviting him to kill Duncan, because the handle is pointing king. Macbeth towards him, and that it is a sign of evil. He thinks it is not real “A dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain.” Macbeth knows that the dagger is linked to the fact that he is about to murder Duncan “It is the bloody business which informs thus to my eyes.” Shakespeare writes this scene with Macbeth constantly giving reasons for why the dagger has appeared; this is good, descriptive use of language because it shows that Macbeth is nervous and explains his emotions well. The fact that Shakespeare has shown the dagger to be pointing towards Duncan’s room is a sign of evil spirits and the supernatural. It shows that the evil spirits are trying to encourage Macbeth to murder Duncan.
Banquo’s ghost appears at Macbeth’s banquet immediately after the scene where Macbeth has him murdered. When Macbeth first sees Banquo’s ghost he thinks that someone is responsible for its sudden appearance- “Which of you have done this?” However because only Macbeth can see it, the other lords question his accusation- “What, my good lord?” The fact that only Macbeth can see this ghost also shows the presence of something supernatural. Macbeth is petrified when Banquo’s ghost reappears “Avaunt, and quit my sight, let the earth hide thee! Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold.” Shakespeare uses descriptive language to show Macbeth’s fear. It shows him to be having a fit because he thinks what he has done would even shock the devil- “Which might appal the devil.” The ghost does not say anything; the only action it makes is nodding its head. It does this when Macbeth is trying to deny that he killed Banquo, even though he has not been accused yet. In the glossary at the side of the page it says that the ghost nods his head as if to say ‘it was you and you know it, yes you did do it.’ This shows the presence of the supernatural and spirits. The fact that there is a ghost there is weird enough, but when it is nodding its head and agreeing with the topic of conversation, as if silently joining in, we know there are definitely spirits at work.
In Act 4, Scene 1, the witches are making a spell in a cavern and there is thunder and lightning outside. They are chanting while circling a cauldron and adding different concoctions to it. This sets the scene well with a typical witch stereotype. When Macbeth enters he asks what they are saying, and they ask him if he would like to hear it from them or their masters- “rather hear it from our mouths, or from our masters?” This suggests that there is a supernatural force that is more powerful than them. He then demands to see these masters, and asked to have them summoned- “Call ‘em, let me see ‘em.”
The apparitions appear out of the witches’ cauldron, which straight away suggests that there is something supernatural going on, and the appearance of each apparition is accompanied by a role of thunder, which adds drama and atmosphere to the scene. Macbeth asks the first apparition, who appears in the form of an armed head, to tell him what he sees-“Tell me, thou unknown power” in this quote he says unknown, which means that he thinks that the apparitions are abnormal, and not human. This also suggests the presence of the supernatural. This first apparition warns Macbeth of Macduff, “Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, beware Mucduff; beware the Thane of Fife! Dismiss me. Enough.” This reminds you of when the witches were predicting Macbeth’s future, and foresore it correctly. This seems supernatural, as it is impossible to see the future. Macbeth seems nervous about what the Apparitions said, “Thou hast harped my fear aright.” The thunder that occurs before the Apparitions appear is eerie and mysterious.
The second apparition is a bloody child; this is perhaps symbolising Macduff’s son’s murder, which takes place later in the play. It tells him that no one can harm him, “for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” The third apparition tells Macbeth to be brave, and not to worry, but that he will be faced with opposition, and that Birnam Wood will appear to be moving towards him, which is why the third apparition is shown holding a branch of leaves. Macbeth is not very pleased with what the witches have to say. At the end of the scene the witches again disappear without a trace.
Shakespeare explores and utilises the supernatural a great deal in Macbeth, this makes the play much more interesting and mysterious. It develops into even more of a fiction than it already is and means you can learn more about the characters because you see a wider variety of reactions than if there was no mention of the supernatural.
